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1) I’ll be starting graduate school on June 16th! I will be studying French and Public Administration. I’m super excited, and definitely ready to be a student again- while some people think I’m crazy for liking school, I thrive in an academic environment, and I really do love learning. It also probably helps that if I were a superhero, I would be speed-reading-woman, so the heavy workload is easier for me than for some.

2) My second novel will be published sometime in the Spring or Summer! The Sandy Connors Series will now have a sequel- The Mystery of the Abandoned Car! As someone thoroughly unbiased, I recommend the series for young adult readers, or adults who enjoyed reading the Nancy Drew Mystery series as kids- the books are a similar feel, and follow the same rules of no one dies, no kids or animals get hurt and the good guys always win. So, maybe that’s a spoiler alert, but you can start the book knowing that the intrepid sleuth will save the day!

(this photo is of Carmel Beach, taken last fall. A sunny CA coastline photo seemed appropriate for a post all about good news!)

One of my favorite tanks in the Aquarium in Monterey- where I volunteer- is the so called “junk tank.” Where else do you see a fish in an old dive boot? This guy looks quite happy to make this old boot his home!

Near Oberammergau in Germany- Linderhof Palace is a small palace that was built by Mad King Ludwig. Munich at Christmas is lots of fun- the Christkindlmarkt is just as picturesque as it sounds, and the cold weather wasn’t actually very cold when I was there. There was no snow in Munich, but we did get out of the city a few days and into the mountains where there was snow!

Happy New Year, all! This month may be kind of quiet around here but in February I hope to be rolling out some new regular features and getting back into a set posting schedule!

Back in Rome…and it’s darn cold here! Rome weather averages online, you lied to me! It is not supposed to be 1 C here in November…but today that is what it is!!! But the city is still beautiful, and the crush of tourists that extended even into October is over now, so there’s a silver lining!

That’s what this guy in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella reminds me of. He’s not holding four elephants and the world on his back, but he is holding a huge, heavy stone monolith! Plus I like turtles, so I had to share a picture of him:)

Firenze continues to surprise me- even though it seems somehow more unified than Rome in it’s architecture and art- it’s mainly Medieval and Renaissance, while Rome runs the gamut from B.C. to Baroque and even later- there are still plenty of odd and funny things just waiting to be spotted. And that’s what this guy seemed to me to be:)

I hope you all have a great weekend!

*for those of you who don’t read Terry Pratchett, Atuin the Great Sky Turtle is the tortoise who carries the world on his back, resting on four elephants who balance on his shell. He’s a pretty awesome tortoise!

So this is the heart of St. Charles, from the Basilica San Carlo in Rome. I’m not entirely certain what is actually inside of the beautiful hanging container in the shrine, but even so, I find these altars beautiful to look at and certainly a worthy spot to sit and think for a while- about the big questions and the little.

Is it everything it’s made out to be? Absolutely, yes! This picture may not look like much- this is just un’etto of Pizza Quattro Formaggi from a pizzeria on the Via Nomentana which has a counter with three chairs and not a single table, but it is delicious. It’s sort of right in between thin and thick crust so it’s chewy but not overwhelmingly doughy. Very tasty! This friday I’m going down to Napoli for the day and I definitely plan to enjoy some pizza there- it’s supposedly even better than the pizza in Rome!